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18SJ

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Per Westling edited this page Jul 31, 2021 · 82 revisions

Table of Contents

18SJ: Let there be rail is a prototype game which appear as alpha on 18xx.games.

General Information
Rules Highlights
Rules Clarifications
Implementation Notes
Known Problems

18SJ is still a prototype undergoing play testing. The implementation at 18xx.games may be changed to reflect this.

Version 0.8 is the one currently supported at 18xx.games.

General Information

Rules Highlights

18SJ is a game based on 1830 but influenced by other 18xx, like 1846 and 1822.

The title takes place in Sweden and parts of Norway. During 1814-1905 Sweden and Norway was in a union, sharing the King.

Reading the rules are recommended but here are some rule highlights:

  • Currency in the game is kr (kronor)

  • During setup of the game, there is randomization that removes 4 privates (1 each of 4 pairs) and 1 major corporation.

  • SJ (Statens Järnvägar) - is the name of the National train company in Sweden. In 18SJ the SJ only appear as tokens after nationalization (see below) and has no other effect on the game.

  • Nationalization - any major corporation, that has operated, may be nationalized if they are train less after a train rust. If there are more than one candidate the one with the highest market price is selected. When nationalization occurs the corporation's tokens are either replaced with SJ tokens or removed (if there is already an SJ token in the same hex) and all the assets of the corporation are sent to the bank (treasury) or removed from game. Share holder gets paid some compensation (reduced market price) for their shares. Certificate limit is decreased when corporations are nationalized.

    Note KHJ is not nationalized as it is not a major corporation.

  • E train - Electric train. Acts like a Diesel (unlimited range) but are also not blocked by SJ tokens. Any city with corporation's token has its revenue doubled.

  • Main line (stambanan) - marked with icons on the map. There are three main lines:

    • Stockholm - Malmö (S-M)
    • Stockholm - Göteborg (S-G)
    • Stockholm - Luleå (S-L)

    A corporation can normally just place one yellow tile, or upgrade one tile, but in case this one improves the main lines, or a 2nd lay/upgrade would, they get 2 lays/upgrades instead of 1.

    You "improve the main line" by building the defined route for one of the main lines. These lines are shown with icons on the map from Stockholm to the endpoint. The additional tile is only granted if the new track builds the defined line. Once a hex has been improved, it will no longer give any further track laying bonus.

    Note! The improvement is only if your lay/upgrade creates a previously missing path along the thought line from Stockholm to one of the three destinations.

    Example:

    KHJ starts the game in this position.

    The first lay does not improve the main line, but a second lay (or upgrade) is allowed if that do improve

    Here is an example of an illegal 2nd lay as neither 1st or 2nd do improve mainline:

    Here is an example of a legal 2nd tile lay, which do improve the mainline from Stockholm to Luleå:

    But that last one would not give KHJ any chance to run its train, so KHJ should maybe build towards Västerås instead?

    Example:

    Next OR for KHJ the game is in green phase and KHJ position looks like this:

    KHJ can now do a first lay that does not improve the mainline between Göteborg and Stockholm.

    For its 2nd tile lay action, KHJ can now upgrade Ånge to green, as it do create a path from west to east along the mainline from Stockholm to Luleå.

  • Route bonuses - there are a set of route bonuses. A route gets this bonus if it contains both, or in some cases all three, letters of the bonus. A route may contain several bonuses, but only one bonus of each type.

    Here are the available bonuses:

    • Öst-Väst (Ö - V), english East-West:
      • Stockholm - Göteborg/Malmö: 120 kr
    • Lapplandspilen (N - S), english Lappland Arrow:
      • 100 kr
    • Malmfälten (m-M or m-M-m), english ore fields:
      • m-M 50 kr
      • m-M-m 100 kr
    • Bergslagen (b-B or b-B-b), english the same as it is an area:
      • b-B 50 kr
      • b-B-b 100 kr

  • From the beginning all corporations use incremental capitalization. Corporations that are parred in phase 5 or later use full capitalization. All corporations (even full cap) use current market price when buy/sell shares. Shares in bank pool does not pay any dividend to corporation. Incremental capitalization corporations may redeem one share at the start of its operation (pay one price to the right--or up if at the rightmost space). In case share price is in yellow/orange/brown the redeem price and number are modified - see Stock Market tab.

  • All corporations float at 60%, even incremental capitalization ones. Shares might not be sold during SR 1, or if the corporation has not floated.

  • The stock round turn is sell-buy-sell.

  • When paying out dividend the corporation move zero, one or two steps step to the right (or up when at rightmost in row):

    • If dividend is twice or more the current stock price, and the stock price is higher than 82 - move 2 steps
    • Otherwise, if dividend is equal or higher to current stock price, move 1 step
    • Otherwise, do not move to the right

  • KHJ (Köping-Hults Järnväg) is a minor. It starts with a 2 train and acts first in any OR. It always pays 50%-50%. KHJ cannot buy any trains so if it becomes train-less it will just skip running trains. KHJ will not be nationalized but if it still exists when phase 5 starts KHJ is removed from the game, its token is removed and its treasury is given to the bank.

    KHJ may be merged into another corporation if KHJ's owner is president of the other corporation. This is done at any time when the other corporation is operating. When merging the KHJ token is replaced by an extra, replacement, token from the other corporation. If the other corporation already has a token in the same hex the KHJ token is just removed. Any funds in the treasury and the 2 train (if still exists) are transferred to the other corporation, and the 2 train may be used by the other corporation. Note! If the other corporation is train locked it may not merge in case KHJ still has its 2 train.

  • Game can end in 3 different ways

    • Bank runs out of money - complete the OR set
    • Stock market price exceeds 350 kr - complete the current OR
    • Bankruptcy - game end immediately

Rules Clarifications

  • If everyone pass during Initial Auction, and there have been privates sold, all sold privates give revenue. KHJ does not operate in this case.

  • If KHJ is bought in, and the buying corporation has tokened the same hex as KHJ, the KHJ token is just removed from the game without compensation.

  • §18.2: "SJ tokens blocks routes in the same way as corporation tokens (except for E trains)". In other words, they do block tile lay/upgrade/tokening.

  • 18SJ is semi-restrictive. Any tile lay or upgrade must reach at least one new segment of the tile, and/or be an upgrade of a city.

Variants and Optional Rules

  • Oscarian Era:
    • All major corporations are full capitalization
    • The IPO price is static
    • After SR1 - shares can be sold even if the corporation has not floated
    • Revenue paid for shares in stock market pays to treasury
  • A. W. Edelswärd: If used when 2 players, A W Edelswärd is a "3rd player" acting as a "bot" that does some automatic things, and some things handled by players. The starting cash and certification limits are for 3 players. Here are a summary of the rules of the bot:
    • Is disregarded for final score - Edelswärd just acts to deplete the Bank
    • Does not act during initial auction or during Stock Rounds - never owns any privates
    • After every even SR, the player with least worth selects one of the non parred corporations - this becomes owned 100% by Edelswärd.
    • The corporations owned by Edelswärd act last in each OR (alphabetical order)
      • They are handled by the player with highest worth
      • They always pay out if possible, stock market price is always 67 (which does not matter)
      • There are rules for track laying, tokening, running trains, acquiring trains - see rule book
      • They never nationalize - only player owned major corporations are eligible for that

Implementation Notes

  • When all hexes in a main line has been improved all the main line icons are removed.

  • To use Göta Kanalbolaget, you need to click on the Göta Kanalbolaget button when route view is visible to activate the ability. This will reset the route view. When you now select revenue centers the bonus will be shown. If you click on the button again, the previous (historical) route might be restored. If you have had the ability activated this will decrease the number of remaining uses of the ability.

  • Even if Nils Ericsson closes the ability to "steal" priority deal (Första tjing) remains through the game until it is used.

Known Problems

  • E train can only be exchanged if the treasury contains at least 1100 kr
  • Open Issues
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